Other Chemistry Commons^™

An In-Depth Analysis And Comparison Of Eco And Non-Eco Surfboard Waxes, Markos Kaskaneas - Efthymiou

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Questions regarding the sustainability of petroleum-based surfboard waxes gave rise to the development and marketing of a sustainable alternative called “Eco” surf wax. The chemistry behind surf waxes is generally unknown and there is no published research on the area of surf waxes. In this analysis, the chemical properties of both types of waxes were investigated, to determine the difference between non-eco and eco waxes and between different water temperature rating waxes. 15 surf wax samples (10 non-eco, 5 eco) were extracted into organic and inorganic fractions and analysed by FT-IR, GC-MS, and HTGC-FID/MS. Multivariate statistical analysis was also performed. …

Studying Organic Chemistry Students’ Scientific Modeling Practices Through A Semi-Structured Interview, Daniel Mays, Morgan Balabanoff

The Cardinal Edge

Many areas of natural science deal with unobservable phenomena. Scientists develop and use models to make sense of these aspects of nature. Chemistry is certainly no exception – in fact, given the molecular nature of chemical interactions, the modern understanding of chemistry is largely based on well-established scientific models. Because models are so important in chemistry, understanding how students develop and use models in the learning process stands to offer key insights into how to better teach chemistry. This project is focused on exploring how students of organic chemistry develop and use scientific models to predict the outcome of reactions. …

Investigating Factors Influencing Science Student Retention, Hayley Benson, Morgan Balabanoff

The Cardinal Edge

Retention in and across STEM degrees has been a significant problem across institutions. By the time students have reached their third year, the University of Louisville has lost over 50% of the students who entered as first-year students.

The main objective of this study is to investigate variables such as sense of belonging, student’s mindset, and science identity and their relationship with retention in STEM degrees. While many studies have identified gaps among student groups across these variables, few studies have generated solutions to address these gaps. Further, the proposed solutions are often from the viewpoint of researchers and upper …

Editorial: Leveraging Multi-Omics Approaches To Understand And Manage Gastrointestinal And Hepatic Diseases, Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, Paul G. Thomes, Isin Tuna Sakallioglu, Kusum K. Kharbanda

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

The Research Topic “Leveraging multi-omics approaches to understand and manage gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases” proposed by the Frontiers in Pharmacology has attracted a total of four articles on preclinical studies that were covered in three original research manuscripts and one review article. Two research articles were on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously named non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is now recognized as a predominant cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting over 30% of the adult population (Teng et al., 2023; Miao et al., 2024). Current pharmacological treatments for MASLD are limited and, until a recent FDA-approved …

Characterization Of Aromatic Stationary Phases For Uses In High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Anastasia Davis

Honors Theses

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is an analytical chemist technique used to separate a sample into its components to characterize and study a specific molecule or compound. Traditionally, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in different industries, such as the environmental and pharmaceutical fields, uses stationary phases that are already well characterized, such as the C18 stationary phase for separation. However, aromatic stationary phases have recently been produced, which have phenyl groups bonded to the interior surface of the column. Still, they have not been well characterized because of how modern they are. This project characterized several aromatic stationary phases (Biphenyl, pentafluorophenyl, and …

Enzyme Encapsulation Within The Hk97 Virus-Like Particle: An Investigation Of Substrate Inhibition Kinetics Within A Confined And Crowded Environment, Joseph B. Lively

Chemistry Theses

Substrate inhibition is a paradoxical phenomenon observed in enzyme kinetics where increasing substrate concentrations lead to a marked decrease in the rates of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Affecting an estimated 20% of studied enzymes, substrate inhibition poses significant challenges to the understanding of their function in essential biological processes and to their exploitation in industrial and therapeutic contexts. Studies show substrate inhibition to be a real limitation in vitro and rational conclusions have been drawn to explain the relevance of substrate inhibition in the self-regulation of biological pathways. However, there is currently no consensus on what role substrate inhibition plays in vivo …

Development And Validation Of A Chemistry Laboratory Safety Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, And Mindset Questionnaire, Claudine Garcia, Genejane Adarlo, Anna Carissa San Esteban, Armando M. Guidote

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Accidents in chemistry laboratories can be prevented by fostering a safety culture - the institution’s knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP), and mindset regarding laboratory safety. To effectively promote a safety culture, robust tools are essential for evaluating safety KAP and mindset. Hence, this study developed and validated a questionnaire that can rapidly measure laboratory safety KAP and mindset to guide targeted interventions aimed at enhancing the safety culture in chemistry laboratories. The study was drawn from existing validated questionnaires in constructing a tool comprising 40 items that can measure the safety KAP and mindset in chemistry laboratories. Using a cross-sectional design, …

Microfiltration Membrane Pore Functionalization With Primary And Quaternary Amines For Pfas Remediation: Capture, Regeneration, And Reuse, Sam Thompson, Angela Gutierrez, Jennifer Bukowski, Dibakar Bhattacharyya

UK CARES Faculty Publications

The widespread production and use of multi-fluorinated carbon-based substances for a variety of purposes has contributed to the contamination of the global water supply in recent decades. Conventional wastewater treatment can reduce contaminants to acceptable levels, but the concen- trated retentate stream is still a burden to the environment. A selective anion-exchange membrane capable of capture and controlled release could further concentrate necessary contaminants, mak- ing their eventual degradation or long-term storage easier. To this end, commercial microfiltration membranes were modified using pore functionalization to incorporate an anion-exchange moiety within the membrane matrix. This functionalization was performed with primary and …

The Reveal: A Technical Study And Conservation Treatment Of An Overpaint Portrait, Camille Ferrer

Art Conservation Master's Projects

A severely damaged 19th-century oil painting depicting a portrait of a woman was treated at Patricia H. and E. Garman Art Conservation Department. A typed letter provided by the owner mentioned that it has been previously restored yet returned with unsatisfactory results. After further examination, the painting appeared to have been previously treated multiple times by different people. There was overpaint distinctly present on the face and later discovered to be present overall. The full state of condition of the painting was initially unknown due to the sum of the surface being overpainted. However, there were evidence of paint loss …

Rna Secondary Structures: Structure-Function Studies In Viral And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Caylee Cunningham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The studies within this dissertation highlight the importance of RNA structure and function, highlighting potential mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and hallmarks of ALS. Specifically, the s2m, a 41-nt structure found within the hyper variable region of the 3’ UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was investigated as this element has no definitive role in viruses but its high conservation in several viral families warrants investigation. We used various biophysical techniques to determine if a palindromic sequence in the terminal loop could participate in dimerization activities, which may have implications in recombination and the longevity of the virus. …

Agnotology Of The E-Cigarette Industry: How The E-Cigarette Industry Continues The Tobacco Industry's Legacy Of Creating Controversy And Confusion Within The Scientific Community And The General Population, Calvin Lewis

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which the e-cigarette industry follows in the footsteps of the tobacco industry's attempts to disrupt science and cause controversy. Four tactics are described that the tobacco industry uses to disrupt science: funding research that is designed to show results that support their position, criticizing and suppressing research that goes against their position, changing risk assessment and scientific research standards to fit their aims, and spreading data created by their interest groups to politicians and the nonacademic press. Evidence is found to show that both the tobacco industry and e-cigarette …

Assessing The Reactivity Of Amino Acids To Chlorination Using Capillary Electrophoresis, Pedro De Allende

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Amino acids (AA) are ubiquitous in wastewater systems. One of the most popular wastewater treatments is chlorination which is effective at eradicating bacteria and overall treating the wastewater, but it can also produce disinfection by-products (DBPs). Certain DBPs have been classified as Class B Carcinogens to humans and are therefore highly regulated and monitored. Past studies have shown that natural organic matter (NOM), specifically amino acids, can be precursors to DBPs if chlorinated to the correct dose. This thesis project explored AA chlorination's mechanism(s) to understand further which products arise. In particular, the investigation detailed which steps of the mechanism …

Response To Replication Stress And Maintenance Of Genome Stability By Wrn, The Werner Syndrome Protein, David K. Orren, Amrita Machwe

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Werner syndrome (WS) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by loss of function of WRN. WS is a segmental progeroid disease and shows early onset or increased frequency of many characteristics of normal aging. WRN possesses helicase, annealing, strand exchange, and exonuclease activities and acts on a variety of DNA substrates, even complex replication and re- combination intermediates. Here, we review the genetics, biochemistry, and probably physiological functions of the WRN protein. Although its precise role is unclear, evidence suggests WRN plays a role in pathways that respond to replication stress and maintain genome stability particularly in telomeric regions.

Targeting Persistence: Improving Success Of Stem Students, Teresa J. Bixby, Alec Werner

Chemistry Department Faculty Conferences

Half of STEM majors leave their program without earning a degree. Many of those who leave do so within their first two years of study. A series of exploratory investigations of the mindset, identity, and sense of community of undergraduate students were completed. Differences in mindset were found between underclassmen and upperclassmen, where upperclassmen tended towards growth mindset traits and often described undergoing a shift from fixed to growth mindset during their undergraduate career. Participation in undergraduate research was found to be a driving factor of persistence with numerous benefits, most significantly STEM identity development and sense of community.

Production Of The Siderophore Lysochelin In Rich Media Through Maltose-Promoted High-Density Growth Of Lysobacter Sp. 3655, Fang Zhang, Jia Liu, Lin Jiang, Yongbiao Zheng, Lingjun Yu, Liangcheng Du

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Siderophores are produced by bacteria in iron-restricted conditions. However, we found maltose could induce the biosynthesis of the siderophore lysochelin in Lysobacter sp. 3655 in rich media that are not compatible with siderophore production. Maltose markedly promoted cell growth, with over 300% increase in cell density (OD₆₀₀) when LB medium was added with maltose (LBM). While lysochelin was not detectable when OD₆₀₀ in LBM was below 5.0, the siderophore was clearly produced when OD₆₀₀ reached 7.5 and dramatically increased when OD₆₀₀ was 15.0. Coincidently, the transcription of lysochelin biosynthesis genes was remarkably enhanced following the …

Towards Carbon Dioxide Reduction: Synthesis And Characterization Of Ccc-Nhc Pincer Iron Complexes., Joshua Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

The industrial revolution came with its downside of emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The NOAA reported in 2019 that, of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, CO2 contributed to about 80% of the increased greenhouse gases hence the need for CO2 Sequestering and Storage (CSS) and ultimately leading to Carbon Capture and Recycling (CCR) as a viable option to convert CO2 into useful forms. The race to find the best catalyst for CCR has led to the synthesis of many organometallic compounds. Pincer complexes catalyzed CO2 reduction has gained notoriety recently because of the tunability and robustness …

Model To Demonstrate Effects Of Mass Transfer And Applied Current In An Electrolytic Cell, George Ankrah

Reviews, Analyses, and Instructional Studies in Electrochemistry (RAISE)

This study investigates the relationship between applied current and resulting cell potential in an electrolytic system, considering the transport of electroactive species. By applying Michael Faraday's laws of electrolysis and the Nernst-Planck equation, the behavior of electroactive species in diffusion-controlled systems with and without stirring is modeled. The plots demonstrate how stirring enhances ion transport and establishes a stable Nernst diffusion layer, affecting the kinetics of electrochemical reactions. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for optimizing electrolysis processes.

Probing The Surface Structure Of Ferrocene Modified Electrodes Using Cyclic Voltammetry, Rebekah S. Stanley

Reviews, Analyses, and Instructional Studies in Electrochemistry (RAISE)

Modifying electrodes imparts new electrochemical properties for use in various applications. To fully understand these electrochemical properties the structure of the modified surface needs to be characterized. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) offers a quick and simple way to determine if the surface structure has been homogeneously modified even at low surface concentrations. Nonideal responses in CV scans give insights to the microenvironments and structure of the monolayer surface that may be indistinguishable in other techniques. Peak fitting CV data, coupled with other surface techniques, can further characterize the contributions and nature of these microenvironments and aid in structural determination.

Melting Point Predictions Of Thermally Stable Ionic Liquids Using A Machine Learning Approach, Jarod Morris

Poster Presentations

Thermally robust ionic liquids hold promise as high-temperature solvents, heat transfer fluids, and high-performance lubricants. These ionic liquids, inspired by thermoplastics like PEEK and PES, incorporate peraryl functional groups that lend them high thermal stability, however they often have melting points greater than 100 °C. A broad liquid range is usually desirable in most applications, so finding thermally robust ILs with lower melting points would significantly enhance their applicability. In this study, machine learning models are developed to make predictions of melting points for these thermally stable ionic liquids using a process called quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR). The methodology used …

Investigating The Impact Of Secondary Activation Time On The Adsorption Properties Of Activated Biochar For Arsenic Removal From Wastewater, Achyuth Bharadwaj Rayarao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Biochar, a naturally occurring and renewable carbon material, becomes porous through activation. Activated biochar is an ideal candidate for use as an adsorbent. The objective of this study is to investigate whether activated biochar derived from Colorado soft pine serves as a better adsorbent and demonstrates enhanced adsorption capabilities after undergoing secondary physical activation at various activation times. The effect of secondary action time on physical adsorption properties drawn from the analysis of isotherm plots, surface areas and pore size patterns were examined by using a physisorption analyzer. Chemical structures were identified using both ultimate and proximate analyses, while porosity …

Enabling More Efficient Solar Thermal Energy Production And Storage, Allan Wilson

Poster Presentations

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) stores & transfers energy using a Thermal Energy Storage Fluid (EIA AEO 2022)

Development Of An Enhanced Sampling Workflow To Accelerate Molecular Docking With Sparse Biophysical Information, Zachary Stichter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Rapid docking of flexible biological macromolecules remains a significant open challenge in protein structure determination. While rigid docking is relatively simple with toolkits such as TagDock, a key obstacle to rapid flexible docking is the complexity and roughness of the free energy surface associated with protein conformational motion (often termed the many-minima problem), meaning conventional molecular dynamics methods do not effectively sample protein conformations near the interaction complex in accessible timescales. Methods such as metadynamics and replica exchange molecular dynamics exist to ameliorate this obstacle, yet these methods use nonphysical biases or random swaps to enhance sampling. In contrast, high …

The Purification And Thermal Stability Of The Peroxidase Enzyme In Cucurbita Moschata, Garen Hamner

Senior Honors Theses

Peroxidases are enzymes that catalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxide to water while oxidizing organic substrates and are valuable in spheres like industrial and medical applications and histochemistry. Limitations still exist in the use of the well-studied horseradish peroxidase for certain activities due to limitations like poor thermal stability, thus the search for novel peroxidases that can overcome these limitations is an active area of research. Butternut squash peroxidase (Cucurbita moschata) (BSP) shows promise due to significant activity being found in the skin and apparent enhanced thermal stability, but an efficient purification scheme for it is lacking, as well as …

A Single Hydrogen Bond That Tunes Flavin Redox Reactivity And Activates It For Modification, Debarati Das, Anne-Frances Miller

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Electron bifurcation produces high-energy products based on less energetic reagents. This feat enables biological systems to exploit abundant mediocre fuel to drive vital but demanding reactions, including nitrogen fixation and CO₂ capture. Thus, there is great interest in understanding principles that can be portable to man-made devices. Bifurcating electron transfer flavoproteins (Bf ETFs) employ two flavins with contrasting reactivities to acquire pairs of electrons from a modest reductant, NADH. The bifurcating flavin then dispatches the electrons individually to a high and a low reduction midpoint potential (E°) acceptor, the latter of which captures most of the energy. Maximum efficiency …

Self-Assembly Of Core-Substituted Naphthalene Diimide Based Palladium (Ii) And Platinum (Ii) Macrocycles, Samantha Aragon, Camille Kwan, Franchesca Tinacba

Posters - 2024

Coordination-driven self-assembly is an efficient way to create 2D and 3D supramolecular coordination complexes (SCC) due to its predictable features of metal coordination. SCC’s represent a growing area of research with applications in various fields such as host-guest chemistry, catalysis, chemical transfer and separation, and stabilization of its reactive intermediate. Integrating various fluorophore/chromophore into these SCC’s results in unique properties and functions. In this project, core-substituted naphthalenediimide (NDI) based macrocycles were constructed via self-assembly with 90° platinum (II) and palladium (II) phosphane triflates.1H NMR and 31P NMR studies of the self-assembled product in various nonpolar to polar solvents showed two …

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Mitochondrial Fitness Governs Chemotherapeutic Efficacy In Hematologic Malignancies, Saeed Daneshmandi, Jee Eun Choi, Qi Yan, Cameron R. Macdonald, Manu Pandey, Mounika Goruganthu, Nathan Roberts, Prashant K. Singh, Richard M. Higashi, Andrew N. Lane, Teresa W-M Fan, Jianmin Wang, Philip L. Mccarthy, Elizabeth A. Repasky, Hemn Mohammadpour

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are key regulators of immune responses and correlate with poor outcomes in hematologic malignancies. Here, we identify that MDSC mitochondrial fitness controls the efficacy of doxorubicin chemotherapy in a preclinical lymphoma model. Mechanistically, we show that triggering STAT3 signaling via β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) activation leads to improved MDSC function through metabolic reprogram- ing, marked by sustained mitochondrial respiration and higher ATP generation which reduces AMPK signaling, altering energy metabolism. Furthermore, induced STAT3 signaling in MDSCs enhances glutamine consumption via the TCA cycle. Metabolized glutamine generates itaconate which downregulates mitochondrial reactive oxygen species via regulation of …

Leveraging The Hmbc To Facilitate Metabolite Identification, Fatema Bhinderwala, Thao Vu, Thomas G. Smith, Julian Kosacki, Darrell D. Marshall, Yuhang Xu, Martha D. Morton, Robert Powers

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

The accuracy and ease of metabolite assignments from a complex mixture are expected to be facilitated by employing a multi-spectral approach. The 2D ¹H-¹³C HSQC and 2D ¹H-¹H-TOCSY are the experiments commonly used for metabolite assignments. The 2D ¹H-¹³C HSQC-TOCSY and 2D ¹H-¹³C HMBC are routinely used by natural products chemists but have seen minimal usage in metabolomics despite the unique information, the nearly complete ¹H-¹H and ¹H-¹³C and spin systems provided by these experiments that may improve the accuracy and reliability …

Β-Sheets Mediate The Conformational Change And Allosteric Signal Transmission Between The Aslov2 Termini, Sian Xiao, Mayar Terek Ibrahim, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Brian D. Zoltowski, Peng Tao

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Avena sativa phototropin 1 light-oxygen-voltage 2 domain (AsLOV2) is a model protein of Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) superfamily, characterized by conformational changes in response to external environmental stimuli. This conformational change begins with the unfolding of the N-terminal A'α helix in the dark state followed by the unfolding of the C-terminal Jα helix. The light state is characterized by the unfolded termini and the subsequent modifications in hydrogen bond patterns. In this photoreceptor, β-sheets are identified as crucial components for mediating allosteric signal transmission between the two termini. Through combined experimental and computational investigations, the Hβ …

Tunable Magnetic Coupling In Graphene Nanoribbon Quantum Dots, Peter H. Jacobse, Mamun Sarker, Anshul Saxena, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Ziyi Wang, Emma Berger, Narayana R. Aluru, Alexander Sinitskii, Michael F. Crommie

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Carbon-based quantum dots (QDs) enable flexible manipulation of electronic behavior at the nanoscale, but controlling their magnetic properties requires atomically precise structural control. While magnetism is observed in organic molecules and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), GNR precursors enabling bottom-up fabrication of QDs with various spin ground states have not yet been reported. Here the development of a new GNR precursor that results in magnetic QD structures embedded in semiconducting GNRs is reported. Inserting one such molecule into the GNR backbone and graphitizing it results in a QD region hosting one unpaired electron. QDs composed of two precursor molecules exhibit nonmagnetic, antiferromagnetic, …

De Novo Drug Design Using Transformer-Based Machine Translation And Reinforcement Learning Of An Adaptive Monte Carlo Tree Search, Dony Ang, Cyril Rakovski, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The discovery of novel therapeutic compounds through de novo drug design represents a critical challenge in the field of pharmaceutical research. Traditional drug discovery approaches are often resource intensive and time consuming, leading researchers to explore innovative methods that harness the power of deep learning and reinforcement learning techniques. Here, we introduce a novel drug design approach called drugAI that leverages the Encoder–Decoder Transformer architecture in tandem with Reinforcement Learning via a Monte Carlo Tree Search (RL-MCTS) to expedite the process of drug discovery while ensuring the production of valid small molecules with drug-like characteristics and strong binding affinities towards …